Sunday, June 16, 2002
Officials in the Maryland county say about half of the establishments have been shut down since the law passed.
By DENISE DICK
and PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Some city council members want the city to adopt regulations for massage parlors similar to what was implemented in Montgomery County, Md., last year.
Councilmen Robert Holmes III, D-4th, and James Pugh, D-6th, requested legislation last month to close current massage parlors and prevent from opening new massage parlors that don't meet licensing requirements.
The law wouldn't apply to massage businesses where state licensed practitioners conduct certified massage therapy.
Law Director Greg Hicks said one of his assistants is researching the law and he expects a report shortly.
Last year, officials in Montgomery County, a suburb of Washington, D.C., enacted stricter regulations for massage parlors.
"They passed it and they closed them down," Holmes said of the Maryland county's law.
He also has approached county and state officials about the idea, hoping that if Warren makes the change, other communities follow suit. Ohio law leaves it up to local entities to institute licensing requirements.
"I'm concerned that we'll chase them out of Warren and they'll open up in Champion or Howland," Holmes said. "That's not going to solve the problem."
The city's seven massage parlors, believed to be fronts for prostitution by some council members, have long been a source of anguish. The seven parlors don't have state licensed practitioners that conduct certified massage therapy, officials said.
What happened
More focus was aimed at the problem last month when a Cleveland television station broadcast an undercover report of activities at the establishments.
Some officials proposed the idea of installing cameras outside of the businesses to videotape customers going in. Council's police and fire committee rejected that plan.
"It's also an image issue besides the law being broken," Holmes said.
That also was part of the motivation behind Montgomery County's action. Some of the parlors were advertising their services in newspapers.
Officials there were concerned about quality-of-life issues, said James Savage, a Montgomery County attorney.
The Maryland county's recently enacted law requires massage establishments to meet several requirements.
"If they aren't licensed by the state, they have to be licensed by the county to operate and maintain a massage establishment," Savage said.
No one has applied for a license, he said.
Twelve of the 24 massage establishments in the county have been shut down, Montgomery County officials said. Some have been shut down for not having the appropriate building use permits.
Mattresses were found on the floor, indicating people were sleeping in businesses that don't have residential occupancy permits.
The law also requires them to provide massages only to people of the same sex and to have fingerprint and background checks.
The establishments must keep a list of clients and meet health and sanitation standards.
Savage said the county law worked in conjunction with what was already in place in the state.